I have had my eyes on Marauders for a while now and when I saw that there was going to be a five-day closed beta, I knew I had to gain access and check the game out. After a few unsuccessful raids, I was finally able to loot a copy and extract it back to my safe house so that I can join in the fun and see if Small Impact Games’ hard work had paid off, spoilers alert it definitely has.
Marauders is a tactical first-person multiplayer loot & shoot set in a Sci-fi universe. Imagine Escaping from Tarkov in space but with the added bonus of spaceships. As a space pirate, you can either go at it alone, with a pal, or with a whole squad. While in the lobby, equipped yourself with the best possible gear and choice which ship you will be taking. There are a few different choices each with its own positives and effectiveness depending on what your goal is with the raid. If you are going in to kill other players’ ships and cause utter chaos then picking the ship with more guns and faster speed will probably do the job. Each raid is never really the same as every encounter is different as well as everyone’s play style, The game was more enjoyable when I was playing with a squad rather than on my own. I found that I had a higher success rate but that’s probably because I was getting carried.
While on raids you fight against AI and other players. You need to use your time in the raid wisely to loot as much as you can carry and then try and extract the goods, you need to make sure you don’t run out of oxygen or are killed by enemy players. You can craft new weapons and gear with that loot as well as salvage it to make a living with traders in the lobby. There are multiple maps currently available that help shake up the gameplay, one minute you could be raiding space stations and other big merchant ships. I love this game’s setting; it feels so new and different. A loot and shoot in space with WW2-era guns really drew me in and who hasn’t wanted to be a space pirate?
Not only that but there are contracts that you can take out that help build your reputation with different factions, in the long run once at a high enough level will give you access to bigger guns and discounts. Having these contacts also helps you have a goal in a raid other than just looting and trying to survive.
The game is fundamentally split into two sections, space combat and on foot. When you load into a lobby you will be in your ship and can fly it to your chosen location. If your ship takes too much damage it will get destroyed, however, there is the option to use escape pods that you can use to get away from any danger or go straight into it. That’s right you can use escape pods to breach enemy ships and if you are successful take that ship for your own, this feature is so cool as it gives any player the chance to get bigger rewards if you are willing to take the risk. Then your other option is to land your ship at one of the locations and go into on-foot combat. This is the first-person side of the game and feels so tense. While looting you will need to traverse with caution as well as making every second count. Be too greedy and you could lose everything or go home with all the spoils. I found myself getting greedy a few times and losing out but that for me is the whole excitement with these types of games. I never really got a chance to play Escape from Tarkov but I did play a game called Vigor. Which has similar mechanics to Marauder but for some reason I found myself being drawn to Marauders more. I love the customisation that you have at the moment with the different colour overalls, all the different gear and the attachment for the weapons it really feels like you can have your own load-outs and playstyle and for me that is a huge feature as you feel like your character is unique and not everyone is carrying the same thing. The weapons feel balance and I never felt like I went into a raid with a disadvantage.
While playing I did pick up a few things that bugged me. You would lose your progress sometimes and it would get reset, you would lose your inventory, the servers did have connection issues at times and there were a few bugs in terms of frame rate and features not working probably. For example, I and this squad get trapped in our airlock for a good five minutes because the door wouldn’t open. However, that being said, this didn’t happen often and for a game that is in closed beta/development, it felt a lot more polished than I was expecting. I have played in a lot of early access games and very few feel like they are ready for release.
Conclusion
Marauders was a breath of fresh air and is a blast to play. Even though the game was in closed beta it was extremely polished and felt more finished than some triple-A games that come out today. There are a few quality-of-life things that could be added moving forward like a quick pick-up option or a way to tell your teammates from your enemies but maybe Small Impact Games have done this on purpose to make the game that bit more challenging. The community is amazing, I didn’t come across any toxic players and everyone was so welcoming and willing to help me out when I first jumped on the beta to show me the ropes. I only wished that the game didn’t have to close the servers, I really wanted to keep playing, and can’t wait for the next playtest as I was extremely invested in Marauders. I can’t wait to see the finished product because if it’s anything like the closed beta I could see myself investing many hours into it. If you are a fan of games like Escape from Tarkov and Vigor then this game should definitely be on your radar. The game’s setting is uniquely enjoyable and the suspense you get every match you jump into really makes Marauders a thrill to play, from the spaceship combat to the loot and shoot risk element it is everything I love in a game, and I wonder what else could be on the horizon for this title. For more information on this title please follow the link provided and also keep an eye out for future playtests and the official release date. https://www.marauders.game
Developer: Small Impact Games
Publisher: Team17
Engine: Unreal
Genres: Shooter Video Game, Role-playing Video Game, Adventure game
Platform: Microsoft Windows
Did you enjoy reading our preview of a game before the game gets its final release and its final version? if yes, click here to find more early previews.
You must be logged in to post a comment.